Hinduism by New Advent Encyclopedia

To complement this article, which was taken from the 1910 Catholic Encyclopedia, New Advent recommends a prayerful reading of "Nostra Aetate" from the Second Vatican Council.

Hinduism in its narrower sense, is the conglomeration ofreligiousbeliefsand practicesexistinginIndiathat have grown out of ancientBrahminism, and which stand in sharp contrast toorthodox,traditionalBrahminismtoday.Hinduism is the popular, distorted, corrupted side ofBrahminism. In its broad sense, it comprises those phases ofreligous,social, andintellectuallife that are generally recognized inIndiatoday as thelegitimateoutgrowth of ancientBrahmininstitutions, and hence aretoleratedby theBrahminpriestsas compatible withBrahmintraditions. Far from being a uniform system ofworship,Hinduism, in this large sense, comprises, besidesorthodoxBrahminism, the numeroussectariandevelopments of cult inhonourof Vishnu, Siva, and their associates, in which for centuries the great mass of the people have found satisfaction for theirreligiouscravings. InHinduism, as distinguished from thehereticalsectsofIndia, it is of minor importance what sort ofworshipisadopted, provided one recognizes the supremacy of theBrahminsand thesacrednessofBrahmincustoms andtraditions. In thepantheisticall-god Brahma, the whole world ofdeities,spirits, and other objects ofworshipis contained, so thatHinduism adapts itself to everyformofreligion, from the loftymonotheismof the cultivatedBrahminto thedegradednature-worshipof theignorant, half savage peasant.Hinduism, to quoteMonierWilliams, "has something toofferwhich is suited to allminds. Its very strengthliesin itsinfiniteadaptability to theinfinitediversity ofhumancharacters andhumantendencies. It has its highlyspiritualand abstract side suited to themetaphysicalphilosopher-- its practical and concrete side suited to the man of affairs and the man of the world—its esthetic andceremonialside suited to the man of poetic feeling andimagination—its quiescent andcontemplativeside suited to the man of peace and lover of seclusion. Nay, it holds out the right hand of brotherhood tonature-worshippers,demon-worshippers,animal-worshippers,tree-worshippers,fetish-worshippers. It does notscrupleto permit the most grotesqueformsofidolatry, and the most degrading varieties ofsuperstition. And it is to this latter fact that yet another remarkable peculiarity ofHinduism is mainly due—namely, that in no other system in the world is the chasm more vast which separates thereligionof the higher, cultured, and thoughtful classes from that of the lower, uncultured, andunthinking masses" (Brahmanism andHinduism, 1891, p. 11).Hinduism is thus a national, not a worldreligion, it has never made any serious effort to proselytize in countries outside ofIndia. The occasional visits ofBrahminsto countries ofEuropeandAmerica, and their lectures onreligiousmetaphysicsare not to be mistaken for genuinemissionaryenterprises. Not to speak of its grosser phases,Hinduism, even in its highestformknown asBrahminism, could not take root and flourish in countries where the caste system and the intricate network ofsocialand domestic customs it implies do not prevail. Nor hasHinduism exercised any notable influence onEuropeanthought and culture. Thepessimismof Schopenhauer and hisschoolis indeed very like thepessimismofBuddhismand of theVedantasystem ofphilosophy, and seems to have been derived from one of these sources. But apart from this unimportant line of modernspeculation, and from theabortivetheosophicmovement of more recent times, one finds no trace ofHindu influence onWesterncivilization.We have nothing to learn fromIndiathat makes for higher culture. On the other hand,Indiahas much of value to learn fromChristiancivilization.

According to thecensusof 1901, the total population ofIndiais a little more than 294,000,000souls, of which 207,000,000 are adherents ofHinduism. The provinces in which they are most numerous areAssam, Bengal,Bombay,Berrar,Madras,Agra, andOudh, and the CentralProvinces. Of foreignreligions,Mohammedanismhas, by dint of long domination, made the deepest impression on thenatives, numbering inIndiatoday nearly 62,500,000 adherents.Christianity, considering the length oftimeit has been operative inIndia, hasconvertedbut an insignificant fraction of the people fromHinduism. TheChristiansof allsects, foreign officials included, number but 2,664,000, nearly one-half beingCatholics.

It was not till towards the end of the eighteenth century thatEuropeans—excepting Father deNobiliand a few other earlymissionaries—acquired anyknowledgeof Sanskrit and alliedtonguesin which thesacredliteratureofIndiawas preserved. The extensive commerce which theEnglishdeveloped inBombayand other parts ofIndiagave occasion toEnglishscholars to make extensive studies in this new field ofOrientalresearch. SirWilliamJones was one of the firstEuropeanscholars to master Sanskrit and to give translations of Sanskrit texts. He translated in 1789 one ofKalidasa'sclassicdramas, the "Sakuntalã", and in 1794 published a translation of the "Ordinances ofManu". He founded, in 1784, the RoyalAsiaticSociety,destinedtoprovea powerful means of diffusing theknowledgeofIndianliteratureand institutions. An able, but less famous, contemporary was thePortuguesemissionary, FatherPaulinusa SanctoBartholomeo, to whom belongs thehonourof composing the firstEuropeangrammar of the Sanskrit tongue, published atRomein 1790. The first important study ofIndianliteratureandriteswas made byHenryT.Colebrooke. His "Miscellaneous Essays on theSacredWritings andReligionof theHindus", first published in 1805, became a classic in this new field of research. Thecollectionwas reedited in 1873 by Professor E. B.Cowell, and is still a work of great value to the student ofHinduism. Other distinguished scholars ofEnglandwho contributed to theknowledgeofBrahminismandHinduism were Horace H. Wilson, author of a Sanskrit dictionary and of a translation of the VishnuPurana(1840) and otherHindu texts;JohnMuir, author of the great work "Original Sanskrit Texts on the Origin and History of the People of India, their Religions and Institutions" (5 vols., London, 1858-70), and SirMonierWilliams, whose work "Brahmanism and Hinduism, Religious Thought and Life in India" (4th ed., London, 1891), is a masterly exposition ofHinduism. With these may be associated Professor MaxMüller, though whose exertions the most importantsacredtexts ofIndiaas well as of otherOrientallands have been made accessible toEnglishreaders in the well-knowncollection, "TheSacredBooksof theEast". InAmericaProfessorWilliamD.Whitneymade valuable contributions to the understanding of theAtharvaVedaand otherBrahmintexts. His labours have been ably supplemented by the studies of Professors C. R.Lanman, M.Bloomfield, and E.W. Hopkins. The contributions of Continental scholars to theknowledgeof theliteratureandreligionsofIndiaare of the very greatest importance. The distinguishedOrientalistEugèneBurnouf, in the midst of his studies onBuddhismandZoroastrianism, foundtimeto translate in part the "BhagavataPurana" (Paris, 1840). R.Rothand F.Kuhnmade valuable studies on the earlyVedictexts, while Chr.Lassenproduced his "IndischeAlterthumskunde" in four volumes (Bonn, 1844-61), a monument of erudition. A.Weber, among other works in this field, published a "History ofIndianLiterature" (English translation, London, 1892). Eminent modernIndianistsare A. Barth, author of the excellent "Religions of India" (London, 1882), H.Oldenberg, and G.Bühler, whose valuable translations ofsacredtexts may be found in the "SacredBooksof theEast". Among those who have made valuable contributions to the study ofHinduism are a number ofCatholicpriests. Besides FatherPaulinus, already mentioned, are theAbbéRoussel, who was chosen to assist in completing the translation of the voluminous "BhagavataPurana", begun byBurnouf, and who has besides published interesting studies onHinduism; theAbbéDubois, who published a masterly exposition of ModernHinduism under the title "Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies" (Oxford, 1897); and Father J.Dahlmann, S.J. Finally, it is but fair to note that considerable excellent work is being done by nativeHindu scholars in translating and interpretingsacredHindu texts. One of the most diligent isNathDutt, author of the following works: "TheMahabharata, TranslatedLiterallyfrom the Sanskrit Text", Parts I-XI (Calcutta, 1895-99); "TheBhagavadgita" (Calcutta, 1893); "The Vishnu Purana Translated into English Prose" (Calcutta, 1896). F. B.Pargiter has translated intoEnglishthe "MarkandeyaPurana",Fasc. i-vi (Calcutta, 1888-99), and E. P. C. Roy, besides giving anEnglishtranslation of theMahabharata(Calcutta. 1883-96), has published the "Sree Krishna" (Calcutta, 1901). M.Battacharya has published an interesting work entitled "Hindu Castes and Sects" (Calcutta, 1896).